Oil on canvas

91 x 76 cm. 35 7/8 x 29 7/8 in.

Signed “Ku” on lower right

Literature：
The Eslite Corporation， Taipei， Taiwan， Fu-sheng Ku， 2008， P.56.

Exhibited：
Eslite Gallery， Taipei， Taiwan， Song of Myself： Selected Works of Fu-sheng KU 1960-2015， January 9 - Febuary 28， 2016.

A Song of Secret
—Ku Fu-sheng： An Introverted Expression and the Tension of Human Nature
In the 60s， both new and old form of paintings coexisted in post-war Taiwan. A group of young people at their twenties， who were enlightened by Modernism which was popular in the 20s in China， found their haven in Abstractionism where they could avoid political taboos and let their imaginations soar in their creations. When the Cultural Revolution was undergoing in China， those dauntless artists from Ton-Fan Art Group and Fifth Moon Group expanded the boundaries of modern paintings. Possibly being influenced by the art groups from New York or inspired by pioneers like Zao Wou-Ki， in the era of uncertainties they have developed their own painting styles which led them to the world stage.
If anyone says that the artists of the two art groups are to continue the ‘grand narrative’ of the subjectivity of art in China as a response to the attitude and methods of modern art， then Ku， as a member of Fifth Moon Group and a key figure of the modern art in Taiwan， has been doing the contrary. He has been exploring his artistic language the whole life. In the past 20 some years of his career， he has faced his art with utmost honesty and faithfully captured all those indescribable objects and moods in his paintings.
In 1935， Ku was born in Shanghai and was expected to follow his father’s footsteps to join the military， but he fell in love with painting and later joined the Fifth Moon Group. Ku’s unique abstract paintings portraying human bodies made him outstanding in Taiwan in the 60s. Ku’s art can be roughly classified into different periods based on the cities he has lived in： Taipei （1956-1961）， Paris （1961-1962）， New York （1963-1974）， San Francisco （1974-1990）， Portland （1990-2002）， Chicago （2002-2007） and Los Angeles （2007-Present）.
Hiding： The Floating of Being
Hiding is a classic abstract portrait created in 1968. This representative painting from Ku depicts an ‘incomplete’ headless man， reflecting Ku’s philosophical worldview and his interpretation of modernity. Exploring the meaning of life， Ku’s creation centers on ‘man’ which associates his oeuvre with modernist and existentialist philosophy. As curator Chia Chi Jason Wang once commented， “Ku’s creative enlightenment began with the individual’s ‘body’ and he strives to capture the ‘present’. Depictions of distortion and deformation are commonly found in his art.” Many of Ku’s human bodies are deformed and elongated which is still unique and impressive even today for its visual convulsion and emotional infectiousness. The omission of the head or limbs can be seen related to the subjectivity of identity， unconsciousness or social space.
Ku portrays himself in most of the paintings as a way to rediscover oneself and his passion towards art. Ku uses modernist brush strokes to highlight the vitality of the characters and distorted bodies to contrast with the somber dark background. A full-filled composition is adopted to bring out the great tension of human nature， to intensify the physical perception of pain and suffering and to reveal the fluctuation of emotions.
Kenneth Pai Hsien-yung， a prominent writer and a close friend， used Ku’s paintings as book cover in a dozen of his novels. Pai once rejected his editor 17 times for the choice of book cover of the novel Taipei People， finally he settled on one of Ku’s paintings. Pai commented on Ku’s interpretation of ‘man’， “Just like a narcissist from the existentialist literature， he boldly depicts the sufferings， solitude， chaos and desire of man using surreal images.”
Enchanted Garden： Creation without Boundary
Ku is good at using symbolic objects as the main body to depict the impermanence of the nature， to express inner struggling with abstractionist techniques and to awaken one’s subjective perception with surreal images. Enchanted Garden， created in 1970， is a painting of such. Using an artistic language entirely different from Hiding， Ku has demonstrated his diversity in styles. He made use of rich colours in various tones to reflect the precise and unfettered sensitivity and implicitness， imbuing the painting with an introverted mood and a playful merriment. Ku depicted a glamorous paradise： headless bodies being devoured by the sky， flourishing plants drifting in a gloomy world， forming a dreamy and surreal scene like a lost paradise. As Ku said， “I never dream， because I have drawn them in my paintings.” Ku broke the restraint of rationality and turned moods into symbols that intertwined to form a unique system of ideographs， leaving the painting a mood between abstraction and reality.
Without confining to his traditional background， Ku masters both the oriental and western artistic language by which he retains in his art the oriental subtlety while exploring the diversity of the western art. Ku transforms his moods into paintings， making each painting an adventure through which helps him to establish an independent personality and contemporary artistic fashion， demonstrating the unconventional temperament of an art pioneer of post-war Taiwan. In the quest of modern Chinese painting， it is indeed a song to oneself about ‘an unexpected encounter of the like-minded’ and ‘a gentle blossom of splendour’.

Price estimate:
HKD： 250,000 - 350,000
USD： 32,200 - 45,000

Auction Result:
HKD: 295,000